Electrical work in Western Australia must be carried out by appropriately licensed people. Where the work is undertaken as a business, the contracting arrangement must also satisfy the current electrical contractor requirements.
The WA Government's definition turns on voltage: equipment or installations operating above 50 volts AC or 120 volts ripple-free DC. Solar and battery projects can carry additional accreditation, network, product and evidence obligations on top of this, but none of them replace the electrical licence.
Verification comes before the first cable
The check itself is short:
- verify the electrician's licence through the WA Government licence search
- verify the electrical contractor licence where the work is contracted to a business
- confirm the proposed work sits within the person's licence and accreditation scope
- identify the current WA Electrical Requirements and Australian Standards applying to the work
- check the relevant network operator and electricity retailer requirements
- plan all preliminary notices, notices of completion and electrical safety certificates
Regulation 49 of the Electricity (Licensing) Regulations 1991 makes compliance with the WA Electrical Requirements mandatory. That means the current controlled document, not a copy saved from an earlier job.
Notifiable work carries its own paper trail
Notifiable electrical installing work can require a preliminary notice before anything starts and a notice of completion after testing. The customer must receive an electrical safety certificate within the required timeframe.
What applies depends on the work, the location and the responsible network operator. Contractors should retain licence details, approvals, test records, notices and the customer certificate as part of the installation record.
Licensing is one link in a longer chain
For a solar or battery project, the electrical licence is where compliance starts rather than where it ends. The same job can also require:
- Solar Accreditation Australia accreditation
- approved equipment listings
- network connection approval and settings
- electricity retailer functionality registration
- photographic evidence for certificate claims
- scheme-specific vendor and virtual power plant requirements
The WA solar and battery compliance centre groups these requirements by decision point.
Official resources
- WA electrical licensing (opens in a new tab)
- Information for electrical licence holders (opens in a new tab)
- Electrical technical guidance (opens in a new tab)
The responsible licence holder and contractor should verify the current Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety and network requirements before work begins.
